“I turned to someone I cared about for comfort,” she clarified. “It was the first time since we met and he was the only one since you.” Vanni quietly processed the information, especially what she was saying in between the lines. He knew she was drawing comparisons to his various indiscretions, and he knew he had no room to judge. But he had never thought Andy would have ever been the one to keep such a secret.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
“There seemed no point,” she answered as honestly as she knew how. “I never cheated on you, Vanni. We weren’t together when I turned to Graham. I thought we were over. Once we got back together it just seemed hurtful to tell you. We were so happy, and I never wanted you to question whether or not this baby was yours. I was pregnant before I ever slept with Graham.”
He shot up out of the seat and started to pace. “As if that makes it better,” he said. He couldn’t imagine. The very thought made his stomach tighten. And he knew he had no right to be mad about it, but this was his Andy… and this was his baby. He had never wanted to share either one.
“Nothing makes it better,” she said. “That’s why I didn’t tell you.”
“And Thanksgiving was the only time?” he asked.
“Graham and I were… together… until I kissed you in that church in New York. Once I found out this baby was yours, there was no way I could go back. Even if it would have been easier…”
The minute the words fell from her mouth she regretted them. “What do you mean, easier?”
She sighed. “I mean easier. I don’t have to fight for him. I don’t have to share him. I don’t have to worry about some psycho showing up at my doorstep, threatening me or my child.”
Each comment hit him like a gunshot. “Is that how you still feel?”
“Obviously not,” she said. “I’m with you. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Even now?” he wanted to know.
“Even now,” she said. “Things have always been complicated with us, Vanni. You know it’s true. But it’s also been worth it. I’d rather be with you, riding out a tornado, than with anyone else enjoying a clear, sunny day. I love you, Vanni.”
Her soft voice was his undoing. He went back to the bed. “I’m sorry, Andy,” he said as he took her hands in his. “I know I’ve been an asshole. And I know I don’t deserve you. I’ve always been afraid you’d figure that out for yourself.”
She smiled as she pulled him down beside her. “Oh, I figured it out.” She touched his face with her hand. “But love isn’t about getting what you deserve. Otherwise, it isn’t really love.”
He nodded and pulled her close. They cuddled together as they shared the bed. He didn’t want to leave her again.
By morning, however, he had had plenty of time to think. Until they caught this psychopath, Andy’s and the baby’s safety were his primary concerns. He couldn’t afford to be selfish anymore. He had to uncomplicated her life; otherwise it could cost her everything.
He proposed his solution over breakfast, which she immediately shut down. “That’s ridiculous,” she said. “If this is because of last night…”
He shook his head. “It’s about your safety. Yours and the baby’s.”
“And you think that’s better with us being apart?”
“You’ll move into the house and I’ll stay in Redondo, just until we figure out who this maniac is. Then I can move in… as your husband.”
“Vanni,” she began but he cut her off.
“Think about it this way,” he said as he took her hand in his. “We can date. Do you realize that in our weird and chaotic courtship we’ve never actually dated? Don’t you think we should at least have a few before we get married?” He read the worried look in her eyes. “I’m not leaving you. I’m doing what I can to keep you safe. If we maintain both houses, it’ll throw this guy off the hunt. And you’ll be safe until we figure out what he wants. I’d much rather he come after me than you.”
“I don’t want him coming after anyone,” she said as her eyes met his. He was determined, she could tell. And she was in no position to fight him. She was too scared to return to that beach house after what had happened. She sighed. “Fine. We can date. But only for a few weeks.”
His brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Because we have a wedding to go to on June 17.” His eyes widened. “You have to make an honest woman of me before we have a baby, don’t you think?”
“Oh, Andy,” he said as he hugged her close. “But why the 17?”
She touched his hair. “Because it was the day we should have had our happy ending last year.” It was the day he was going to tell the world she was the woman he loved – the woman he had chosen – but Talia had interrupted in a fit of crazy and derailed everything. “Let’s take a bad day and make it the best day,” she said softly.
He reached for a kiss. “Every day with you is the best day,” he whispered against her lips.
Two days later they were moving her into her new house. Kelly had orchestrated all the furniture delivery, as well as the delivery of anything she’d need from the beach house, including her cat Simon. All Vanni had to do was carry Andy over the threshold. Andy was overwhelmed at how perfect her house already looked. Kelly was worth her weight in gold. She had taken so many notes and paid attention to every detail, so that she could put everything where Andy wanted it and Andy didn’t have to lift a finger. She was still taking it easy, recovering from her attack. She was 32 weeks along, so even if their daughter was born early she’d have a high rate of survival. But closer to term was ideal, and Andy considered it her main job to get them all to July 15 before she delivered. She had contractions off and on, but they were minor and irregular. She might have missed them entirely if it hadn’t been for her scare during the home invasion.
Vanni lit some candles around the living room, along with their fireplace. She gave him a grin as she teased him. “It’s too warm for a fire.”
He winked as he used the remote to play music in the background. As he approached he said, “Since when has heat ever been a problem for us?” He took her into his arms, as much as he could with her pregnant belly in the way. They swayed to the music for their first dance in their new home. He twirled her around and then brought her close. He whispered in her ear, “Remember our first dance?”
She chuckled. “How could I forget? You were this half-naked bad boy rocker whispering naughty intentions into my ear.”
His breath was hot against her neck. “Did it work?”
“What do you think?” she breathed.
“I thought you were the sexiest woman I had ever seen,” he said as his tongue rimmed her ear. “Thought it then. Still think it now.” His lips covered hers.
She clung to him as he kissed her. “You still take my breath away,” she whispered as he pulled away.
He grinned. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, babe. Come on.” He took her hand and led her from the living room down the hall. He opened a bedroom door, but it wasn’t to the master where she thought he’d be leading her. Instead it was to a bright and cheerful nursery. She gasped. “Vanni.”
He opened the door to a pale pink paradise, which took everything she had planned to the next level. She instantly knew that he and Kelly had been in cahoots. The wallpaper featured a smattering of tiny hopeful rosebuds on a light blush background, like Andy had wanted. But the bookshelves were filled with childhood books she’d grown up reading, books she could now read to their daughter. There were stuffed animals and fanciful snow globes with fairy tale characters and shiny bright glitter. There was even an antique music box with a graceful ballerina balancing right on top their daughter could take with her to adulthood. The furniture was all done in cherry wood, again like she had wanted. But the rocking chair was an antique with a matching ottoman, and the centerpiece of the room – the crib – was much more extravagant. It was round, with pink bows holding up the breezy cotton canopy, and wisps of pale pink material running down and tyi
ng off at each pole like a cloud. It all looked tailor made for a perfect little princess, and their special bear sat waiting right inside. There were tears in Andy’s eyes as she reached for it, playing the lullaby he had specially recorded for their daughter.
It was such a magical place to bring their baby. It almost hadn’t felt real until now. Now she couldn’t wait to meet their little girl. Her arms hungered to feel their warm, wiggly baby, to hold her, to rock her in the rocking chair, to sing lullabies as she nursed her. It had all felt so abstract before. There was no crib at the beach house; there had been no practical place to put it in their loft bedroom. So they thought about it, they even talked about it, but the evidence of her pregnancy was contained almost entirely within her body.
In their first home together, they were a couple.
Here they were a family.
And she actually felt ready.
She turned to Vanni. “I love you,” she said simply.
He took her back into his arms. “And I love you,” he said as he kissed her softly on the lips. “Both of you.”
“And what’s next on your magical tour?” she wanted to know.
He gave her his irresistible smirk as he took her by the hand and led her through a side door into the large master bedroom within a child’s cry from the nursery. The platform bed was in the same cherry wood as their daughter’s furniture. Their room matched the blush pink from their daughter’s room to a rich and masculine hunter green. It was warm and inviting, and instantly felt like home. All they had to do now was christen it.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Welcome home, Vanni,” she said before she reached for a kiss. He happily complied. He loved the taste of her mouth, and the way her lips parted for his inquisitive tongue. His hands slid down her back and circled her close to his body, which always responded to her ardor like a puppet at the end of her string.
With ease he swept her up into his arms without even breaking their kiss. He carried her to their bed, which Kelly had already thoughtfully turned down before she retired to her temporary accommodations on the other side of the house.
But he wasn’t thinking about Kelly as Andy’s fingers slid up under his shirt and spread across his massive chest. His hand made a similar journey, only it paused to sweep over her rounded tummy. He cupped her full breast and his thumb brushed across her sensitive nipple. She arched her back to fill his hand as she moaned into his mouth. He pulled away slightly to remove her shirt, and she unfastened her bra to discard it somewhere in a darkened corner of their new room. His mouth fastened over the aching peak of her breast, and her head tipped back as his masterful tongue etched warm circles onto her skin.
Vanni pulled her pants over her hips and kissed his way down her body. He planted dozens of tiny, loving kisses around the mound of her pregnant stomach, still so enamored of her body in full bloom. It was proof of their love in every way, a permanent bond that linked them forever. That baby was a living wedding ring, a sacred covenant. He counted his blessings every day she would kick him through her mommy’s skin. She had already let him know who was boss, and he couldn’t wait to meet her.
But it was her mommy who needed his attention now. He spread her legs with his hands and dove between to toy with her with his mouth and his fingers. She gasped as she writhed against him. She burned for him in a way she had never, could never, burn for anyone else. Anything less than his body inside her own was a tease.
And Vanni was quite the expert at teasing.
He brought her to climax within minutes, and she shuddered powerfully against his nimble tongue. She tried to pull him up to her but he was determined to make her scream. His slid his fingers inside of her, making her buck against his hand. She wanted him to fill her completely, but he was on a mission to take his time.
She was delirious by the time he finally climbed back up her body. She could taste herself on his lips as he kissed her. “Make love to me, Vanni,” she said as she pulled him close.
There was an evil little grin on his face as he looked down at her. “I’m afraid I’m not the kind of boy that puts out on the first date, Miss Foster.”
She whimpered as she ground against him. She knew he wanted her. “Why are you being so mean?” she pouted.
He bent to kiss her lips, one at a time. “Because the first time we make love in our home, I want it to be as man and wife. Think you can wait?”
“No,” she said with an even bigger pout, which made him laugh. He covered her naked body with the sheet, lovingly tucking her in. “Haven’t I always been worth the wait?” he asked as he traced her chin with his finger.
She looked into those dark brown eyes she loved so much. “Every time,” she agreed in a soft, sated voice.
He kissed her again, with just as much passion as she. He was breathing hard as he pulled away. “I better leave now or I won’t be able to,” he warned.
She wrapped him closer. “Good.”
He adopted the gentile accent of a Southern woman. “Ah declare this is not proper. Not proper at’tall. You just keep your hands to yourself till you put a ring on mah finger, missy.”
She giggled and he stood. “Sleep tight, babe,” he said as he blew her a kiss. “Dream naughty dreams.”
She looked at his hardened silhouette and gave him a satisfied smile. “You, too.”
He left her in their bed and drove home to the lonely beach house, taking the first of many cold showers before he made Andy Foster his bride.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Burbank, California
May 31, 2011
The week leading up to the premiere of Fierce had been a hectic one for all involved. For Vanni, the other judges, Graham, Shannon and the contestants, this included 16-hour days at the studio. For Andy, this meant video-conferencing from her new, secure fortress in Rancho Palos Verdes, with Kelly running relay.
Between work and his trying to properly court his fiancé, Vanni hadn’t had much time for anything else. He was glad Holly had stepped up her game and taken care of herself. She wasn’t texting him as much, and whenever he’d find a few minutes to call her to check on her she’d hurry him off the phone, assuring him that she’d hired a nurse and was staying in bed, and their son was doing just fine.
He would have gone to her apartment but there had been no time, and she made it clear there was no need. She seemed to accept he had other obligations, and no longer seemed to demand the all-or-nothing domestic bliss of making him choose.
It was as though his life was finally falling neatly into place. The Wilkes had accepted the settlement offer, Yael was happily managing the band and making progress on the new album, and the show was right on track with everyone’s optimistic expectations.
That night they were scheduled to broadcast their live premiere, which would introduce the nation – and the world – to their top contestants. Vanni was especially excited about Jordi’s performance. Over the past few weeks he had definitely taken her under his wing, working closely with Jorge to unleash her individual style while boosting her confidence. Though she was fearless on the stage, he got the distinct impression that she was trying to prove something. He couldn’t talk to her much, given his position as judge, but he planted the bug in Jorge’s ear.
Jorge was known on set to be a magical fairy godfather, who had the uncanny ability to reach in beyond all the surface insecurities and pull forth one’s inner confidence. For Jordi, Vanni suspected Jorge would have to do the opposite. She had oodles of confidence when you put a microphone in her hand. Her insecurities were deeply hidden.
He knew she’d have to fight through them to really shine like he knew she could.
Allison voiced her concern once again that putting her on an international stage might actually do her more harm than good. She feared that because Jordi depended largely on her amazing talent to validate herself, hearing any real criticism might tear her down as opposed to build her up. They had an amazing crop of talent for their show. She was specta
cular enough to grow out of her pond in Bumfuck, Iowa. The real question was if she would drown in the ocean of talent in which she’d been cast.
As talented as she was, she wasn’t the only contestant that had won the hearts of the judges. Jace Riga, a 21-year-old disabled veteran who juggled movie star good looks with an artificial leg, had blown them all away during his audition, where he confessed that he never knew he could sing until he was lying in a hospital bed, recovering from the bomb blast that had left him an amputee. It had kept him balanced through the recovery process, as he learned how to walk again and face the world with what looked like a limitation.
“I’d have never known I could sing if it hadn’t been for that roadside bomb,” he told them as he took the stage. He pointed to his artificial limb that reached from his knee to the stage. “Now I have a bionic foot and the chance to sing for the country I love.”
All three judges soundly voted him through to the live shows. From his wavy, jet-black hair, olive skin and bright green eyes to his heroic, optimistic, can-do, "Ooh-rah!" attitude, they knew he had everything it took to be a fan favorite from the get-go.
He, too, would be on their live broadcast premiere. Maggie signed on as his assistant from that first audition, which officially switched her employment from Graham to another patient. This was good news for both Maggie and Graham, who had begun to take baby steps into a new romance. His paying her to take care of him suddenly felt inappropriate at best.
She still lived in the house, and she accompanied him to work every day, but no longer as his healthcare provider.
They instead used all downtime to foster the growing feelings between them, both as friends and as lovers – though they had not yet taken that final step toward the bedroom.
It had been a long time for Maggie. She didn’t want to jump into bed with Graham, especially since she knew he had residual feelings for Andy. That had been clear after Andy was attacked at her beach house, and Graham immediately wanted to bring her back to Malibu.
That night, when he had returned from the hospital and told Maggie what he had proposed to Andy, she let him know she was nobody’s substitute. She slammed off into her bedroom after telling Graham he’d better make his choice before she made it for him.
The Complete Groupie Trilogy Page 76